Efficacy Of New Seizure Screening Algorithm - Positive Data On Novel Neurodiagnostic Technology

Main Category: Epilepsy
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 09 Dec 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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A study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reports that a new seizure diagnostics algorithm developed by Baltimore-based Infinite Biomedical Technologies (IBT) accurately screens patients with nonconvulsive seizures. The algorithm is part of a comprehensive neurodiagnostic system designed by IBT to help emergency room staff and other first-response healthcare providers screen such patients and make rapid triage decisions, including timely referral to a specialist.

The study, titled "A Multi-Parametric Seizure Screening Algorithm for Clinical EEG" (AES Abst. 3.110) was presented on Monday, December 8th at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Epilepsy Society in Seattle.

The researchers studied IBT's Seizure Vector (SV) algorithm, which expresses EEG (electroencephalogram) readings as a numeric score to classify seizure patients into one of two categories: those with epileptic seizures and those with no evidence of seizures.

The advanced algorithm is an important component of IBT's new Vigilant(TM) neurodiagnostic system, which is designed to improve screening and care of patients in an emergency department environment who demonstrate altered medical status (AMS).

Hospital emergency departments in the US serve more than 113 million patients each year. Up to 10 million of those patients demonstrate some form of AMS, of whom a portion have nonconvulsive seizures that can be confirmed only with an EEG. Such specialized screening is rarely performed in emergency departments and community hospitals, which typically do not have a neurologist available to review and interpret EEG results.

If left undiagnosed and untreated, patients with epileptic or nonconvulsive seizures can suffer severe neurologic damage. Research shows that the window for optimal therapeutic treatment is 30 min. to one hour following the onset of seizures.

"Our vision is to provide Vigilant as a complete solution for hospitals and other first-response providers to screen and appropriately care for all patients with acute neurological illness, even if the healthcare facility has limited access to on-site neurological care," said Infinite Biomedical CEO Santosh Venkatesha.

IBT has developed the following key components of the next-generation Vigilant(TM) platform to work in tandem with the SV algorithm:

1) Vigilant(TM) Tele-Consultation: enables emergency department physicians    to reach an off-site neurologist or EEG specialist and share clinical    information.

2) Vigilant(TM) EEG: provides real-time EEG results and patient video for    off-site review by a neurodiagnostic specialist.

Together, the components of the Vigilant(TM) system are designed to enable an emergency department care team to identify seizure patients promptly and consult with a specialist via the Internet for timely, accurate seizure diagnosis and treatment.

An abstract of the study presented today is available on the American Epilepsy Society's Web site.

About Infinite Biomedical Technologies, LLC

Infinite Biomedical Technologies, LLC is a medical device company focused on advanced technologies for cardiology, neurocritical care, and neuroengineering (prosthetics and imaging). The company maintains collaborative alliances with researchers at several leading academic institutions, and has received more than $20 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Infinite Biomedical has research and development facilities in Baltimore, Maryland and Los Angeles, California.

Infinite Biomedical Technologies, LLC